29 Weeks
Oblique (Again!)
I had a really nice prenatal appointment today! Baby is currently diagonal-ish with her head up in my ribs and her butt over by my hip. Denise (midwife) wasn’t concerned; she said there’s lots of time for baby to move around and I have a lot of fluid so it’s not an issue yet at all. Wesley was oblique like that for a looong time, except I think he was head-down with his butt in my ribs.
Even though Denise isn’t concerned, I’ll still probably hit up spinningbabies.com for some exercises to help baby get into a favorable position! One of my big fears with this pregnancy is getting “auto-risked out” of trying for my VBAC. Something like a breech baby or a placental abruption or anything that will necessitate an automatic c-section versus being able to let me labor.
Physical Stuff
I’m up about 20lbs so far, which was more than I was expecting based on my numbers last month and I’m also in desperate need of back pain relief. That said, it makes sense considering I have been eating a fair amount of sandwiches and English muffins. Argh! They are so delicious but so bad for me. I’m going to try to be better about non-carby snacks and not eating super-huge lunches at work.
Blood pressure was 124/72, which the midwives were happy with. No protein in my urine, and no swelling so far! I had my glucose test today and passed. My iron level is at 11.5 and they like to see it around 12 or more, but she said this is actually a good sign re: preeclampsia and not getting it again. Something about blood volume and a drop in the iron level at this point can actually mean I have adequate blood volume this time – I’m trying to remember how exactly she explained it. Anyway, it’s a sign that I’m still doing well on the pre-e front.
Mental Stuff
We talked a bit about whether or not to have a doula at the birth. Not having a doula was what I consider my biggest “failure” with Wesley’s birth – I could really have used the continual support and knowledge last time as I felt very alone and scared. Because of this, I’ve said for a LONG time that I’d insist on having a doula if we had another child. However, I’m kind of reconsidering that stance. I feel like Denise and Krysta are much more hands-on and doula-like than the midwives I had with Wesley, and as such, I’m not really feeling the great need for a doula this time. If I knew I was going to have a hospital birth, BY ALL MEANS I’d hire a doula. I think, though, since this birth (ideally) will be at home with both Denise and Krysta and Daniel there, I feel pretty well supported.
Other Stuff
I also received my supplies list! I am sort of over the intense nesting phase I had last month, but I’m excited to gather all the supplies I’ll need for my birth. Makes it seem more real, I guess? And then I paid the midwifery fee in full (ACK) and choked a bit, but we saved $150 by paying in full before 32 weeks so I decided to go ahead with it. Then I recommitted myself to finishing up our taxes so we can get a bit of money back to make up for it.
I saw a chiropractor last Thursday and I think it cured my low back pain for the time being. So that’s great. I really didn’t have any physical complaints at this appointment, but they did encourage me to use my chiropractic appointments for sure.
My next appointment is in two weeks! I can’t believe I’m already at the every-two-weeks stage of appointments.
File Under: Pregnancy
2 Comments
Do you have insurance? Our midwife was around $3k but it was mostly covered by insurance and since I birthed at home – no hospital bills! SWEET.
RE: the doula – I hear ya. I went back and forth with it, we had one midwife attending the whole time, then another came at the end as I started pushing, mainly to help with the birth and tests, etc afterwards. Personally, I liked not having a lot of people there watching and waiting. Especially at home – there’s not a lot of room for that many people in our bedroom! ?
We do, but it won’t pay out for midwifery care/homebirth. It covered half my anatomy scan ultrasound which surprised me – I couldn’t tell from the documents if it’d even do that much.
Thanks for the input re: having doula. That’s actually the first thing the midwife said when I asked about doula recommendations – “How big is your apartment?” And my answer was “not very.” She felt pretty strongly that I’d be okay without a doula, and I agree that having multiple people watching and waiting would be kind of nervewracking. I’m glad you felt okay without one!